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BLUES
by Frank-John Hadley
Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/
Jack DeJohnette
Yesterdays
ECM 2060
AAA 1 /2
Silver anniversaries seldom come along in jazz,
and Keith Jarrett’s trio rolls along into a recession-proof
golden future. Twenty-six years and
counting, Jarrett and his redoubtable rhythm section
continue their benign if bankable assault on
the Great American and bebop songbooks, piling
up sterling renditions of standards and bop
gems. Still on top of his game, Jarrett mixes
reveries with punchy explorations in this live
date from Tokyo in 2001. The Japanese fans’
respectfully restrained applause lightly riffles
under Gary Peacock’s one-chorus solos and Jack
DeJohnette’s occasional blunt fours.
Jarrett selects repertoire impeccably and paces
his sets admirably. Though “Strollin’” leads off
with a lumpy warmup hardly reminiscent of
Horace Silver’s natural wit, they soon smooth it
out. Ditto on “Scrapple From The Apple,” but
“Shaw’Nuff,” launched with silent-movie chase
piano, never flags. Old favorites reappear—a
whimsical “You’ve Changed” and the ragtimefeel
solo intro to “You Took Advantage Of
Me”—freshly reimagined with more pure
melody and less funk and blue notes. Somehow
the sleepier ruminations, such as “Smoke Gets
In Your Eyes” with its dirge-like verse and turning-leaf
exploration, seem more pleasantly apropos
of the celebration.
Completists will admire the sweet legato
lines, some recalling Dave McKenna’s glorious
sweep, that Jarrett unleashes on the Jerome Kern
title track and those enveloping “A Sleepin’
Bee” (an expansive, daring solo) that summon
the concentrated approbation of his mates, both
in solo and ensemble. A snappy medium clip
backstage track of “Stella By Starlight” fills out
the date’s encore, an easy textbook reading with
bass and drums given one chorus each.
—Fred Bouchard
Yesterdays: StrolIin’; You Took Advantage Of Me; Yesterdays;
Shaw’Nuff; You’ve Changed; Scrapple From The Apple; A
Sleepin’ Bee; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes; Stella By Starlight. (75:37)
Personnel: Keith Jarrett, piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Jack
DeJohnette, drums.
»
Ordering info: ecmrecords.com
Sweet Zones
Enrico Crivellaro: Mojo Zone
(Electro-Fi 3411; 72:15) AAAA This
Italian guitarist, once a student of
Ronnie Earl, sets the gold standard
for blues instrumental albums by
someone under 40 here. Stellar
technique aside, Crivellaro pours
inspiration into eight originals and
songs he knows from old Earl
Hooker, Junior Wells and Kenny
Burrell records. Hypnotic feeling
levitates the eight-minute “Hubert”
(as in Sumlin). The dankest depths
of wretchedness envelope the slow
blues “Blues For Larry Johnson”
(who’s he a little-known, deceased
guitarist). Amazing shades of emotional
delicacy are revealed in
Burrell’s “Midnight Blue.” Pietro
Taucher’s Hammond C-3 is a blowtorch
of energy. If the good Lord’s willin’
and the creek don’t rise, Crivellaro will conquer
blues America.
Enrico Crivellaro:
gold standard
Ordering info: electrofi.com
Nicole Hart: Treasure (Blues Leaf 9839;
49:45) AAA Two Harts showed up in the
New Jersey studio. The first is a poised, farranging
singer capable of folding in sensuality
with ingenuity on tunes she composed
with her keyboardist–husband Lance Ong.
She scores big with “Treasure,” about a
reckless female who once dallied with “the
man on my dreams,” just as good is the
revealingly titled “I Just Want To Cry.” The
second is a passable blues bar entertainer
not sure how to feel her way into, for
instance, Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder
classics.
Ordering info: bluesleaf.com
Roxy Perry: In My Sweet Time (Blue-
Perry Hill 3868; 51:15) AAA New Yorker
Perry is a veteran blues singer with a
straightforward delivery and lots of sassiness.
On her third outing, she broadens her
horizons with enjoyable forays into uptown
r&b, funk, rock, country, Latin music and
finger-snapping jump-blues. Perry knows
her business all right; she’s a more than
capable songwriter and harmonica player.
“Not Bad Enough” sounds like a scratchy
78 from the time when blues queens ruled
the land.
Ordering info: roxyperry.com
Guy Davis: Sweetheart Like You (Red
House 211; 62:30) AA 1 /2 Davis owns the
most valuable discography of any modern
blues artist, but he gets it only partly right
this time around. His gruffly expressive
midnight-cry of a voice highlights intelligent
songs he has penned on infidelity
(“Sweet Hannah”) and the intertwined
poetic brilliance and social consciousness
of his actress–mother Ruby Dee (“Words
To My Mama’s Song”). But Davis fails to
invigorate several dog-tired tunes, including
“Hoochie Coochie Man,” and he
indulges in an unfortunate over-dramatized
quality when singing the field holler “Ain’t
Goin’ Down.”
Ordering info: redhouserecords.com
Ramon Goose Band: Journey Into The
Blues (Tekni 003; 40:56) AA 1 /2 Goose,
based in England, goes with cover material
(Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Rude Mood,”
Robben Ford, more) on a straightahead trio
blues set that’s a departure from his
thrilling neo-blues band, nublues. He passes
muster as a guitarist, but doesn’t always
cut it as a vocalist. He’s not keen on his
intonation or inflection.
Ordering info: ramongoose.com
B.B. King: Live In Africa ’74 (Shout!
Factory 11043 DVD; 48:00) AAAA 1 /2 King’s
famous appearance before 80,000 Zairians
was part of the festivities surrounding the
Muhammad Ali–George Foreman championship
bout. Sweat dripping, King sings
with stentorian earnestness and uncorks
single-note runs as if it were his last night
on Earth. Great power emanates from
some secret place within him. Then-young
guitarist Larry Carlton is one of the hirelings
seen and heard along King’s regular touring
group and a big band on “The Thrill Is
Gone” and seven more staples of the grand
master’s repertory. Bonus: a short, OK
interview from 1981.
DB
Ordering info: shoutfactory.com
ANNA SHARIBZHANOVA
June 2009 DOWNBEAT 65